Standard disclaimers apply. The characters I own are Elise Camille Ansell, Dominic Messer, Chris Messer, and Sophia Louise Campbell. Everyone else clearly belongs to Jonathan Larson and affiliates. I only wish I owned everything else.

I've been working on this story for a while, several weeks. I know the idea is similar to something some stories have already done, but my reasoning for doing such a plot is entirely different (and will be found out several chapters from now). The story is almost completely written and ready to post, I only have the epilogue left to write, but I figured I'd post just the first chapter to see if people like it. I'm planning on posting a chapter a week.

Just to let everyone know, when I first started this story, I didn't really know where I was going to go with it. I had some ideas, but no connections, no way to get to where I wanted to go. But then life changed a little and I realized how I wanted it to end. So I'm warning you: there WILL be a major character death! It won't be who you think it will be, though, and it will not happen how you expect it to.

That's about all from me, I guess. Here is chapter 1 of "De pelle sorte". "De pelle sorte" means "One of a kind" in French, according to my friend, Silvia, who is from France, just so you guys know.

De Pelle Sorte

Chapter One - On The Street

As Roger walked down the street from Washington Square Park in New York City, his mind raced. He thought about his most recent gig and how an agent had come up to him after, asking if he would like to record demos of his songs for a possible CD. Today's mid-January day was cold, but Roger didn't care. He often played for hours in the cold, as bundled up in warm layers as he could be, because he loved his music more than food. Roger was thrilled and was on his way back to the loft to tell Mark and Collins. Maureen and Joanne were residing in San Francisco; they had moved there once Mimi had moved down to Mexico come New Year's, and they were now wanting to get married and start a family, adoption or otherwise.

Roger forgot to watch where he was going, then felt a little body run into him. Looking down, he saw a little boy, no older than three, had slipped on the ice, fallen, and collided with him.

"Oh," he said, "hey there. Are you lost, little guy?" He helped the boy up, then squatted down to be at his eye level.

"No, just faster than Mommy," the little boy said, grinning mischievously.

Roger laughed. "Is your mom coming?" he asked, looking around.

"Yes, she is," said a voice from above Roger and the little boy. Roger looked up. She took the little boy's hand, turned him around, and started scolding him. "Dominic Christopher, you know better than to run away from Mommy in the city. Why'd you run, huh?"

Dominic had the grace to look ashamed of himself. "I'm sorry, Mommy," he said. "I was just trying to have some fun. I'm bored."

"Well, it's cold and icy out, so Mommy doesn't think it's fun, running after you in the big city, honey," the woman said to Dominic, "so please don't do it anymore, OK? We just left to get some lunch, then Mommy has to get you back to daycare and herself back to work and I'll pick you up from Sophia this afternoon."

"Mommy, I wanna go to work with you," Dominic whined.

"Maybe when you're older, sweetie, then I can talk to Anthony and maybe he'll let you shoot with me, OK?" the woman said.

"When I'm older, when?" Dominic asked. "How old do I have to be first?"

"Let's say you turn four first, OK?" the woman asked him, trying not to sound exasperated.

Dominic sighed. "OK," he said.

"Good. Now let's go, please," the woman said.

Roger was so caught up in the mother-son conversation that he only just now noticed how beautiful the woman was. She was tall, about five-eight, slender, with stick-straight auburn hair that trailed down her back and brilliantly green eyes.

"Hey, wait, um," he stammered. She gave him a resolute look. She was obviously flustered and needed to be on her way. "Sorry, um... I'm Roger, by the way."

"I'm Elise," she said, taking Dominic's hand. "Elise Ansell."

Roger nodded, then Elise turned and left with Dominic. "Bye," he said, and his voice trailed off to a whisper, "Elise."

Roger spun on his heel and walked quickly back to the loft. The mid-January wind was biting at his cheeks and he was getting cold. But he couldn't wait to tell Mark whom he'd met.

"So you just ran into this model on the street and introduced yourself?" Mark asked, trying to clarify, since Roger had flown through the story faster than he could keep up.

"No," Roger said, rolling his eyes. "Her son ran into me and she came after him and I introduced myself then."

Mark nodded. "Ah, I see," he said. "What's her name?"

"Elise Ansell," Roger said.

"Oh, her?" Mark asked, surprised.

Roger was confused. "What?" he asked.

"Well, I know her," Mark said. "I work with her... unofficially. Sometimes I photograph her and submit the pictures to Ralph Lauren and they pay me."

Roger's mouth fell open. "Oh, my God, I just got jealous. Mark, why didn't you tell me?" he asked. "You're so lucky. She's so beautiful." He smiled dreamily. "She's got these eyes and this— this hair. Wow... Oh yeah, and her smile?" He sighed. "She's one of a kind, Mark."

Mark smiled. "Well, hopefully you'll see her again," he said. "If I'm ever photographing her in the future, I'll let you know and you can come to work with me. It's just work with me, I'm not involved with her."

"I'd love that," Roger said.

Mark laughed. He could already tell his best friend was falling fast for Elise.

Roger looked excitedly at Mark. "Hey, you are not gonna believe what else happened to me today."

"What?" Mark asked.

"A recording artist came up to me and asked if I'd like to record demos of my songs for a CD," Roger said.

Mark's mouth fell open. "Wow, Roger, that's amazing," he said. He went over and hugged Roger. "Congratulations. I'm happy for you."

"Thanks, man," Roger said. "I can't wait to tell Collins and Maureen and Joanne."

Mark nodded. "Roger Davis, first Washington Square Park, next Madison Square Garden," he said.

Roger grinned. "One can only hope," he said. "Come on, let's call Collins and get together and hang out. We should tell Mo and Jo, too, see how they're doing in San Francisco."

Mark nodded and they both went to the phone to make the calls.

So we begin. This is the end of chapter 1. I hope you guys like it so far. Remember, Mark only works with Elise unofficially. He does make money when he works with her, but he doesn't work directly with Ralph Lauren, it's through his own private film and photography business that all got started with 'Today 4 U: Proof Positive'. The story begins in January 1991. Just thought I'd clarify that. Don't forget to review. I'm both excited and nervous about how this story will be received. Thank you kindly for reading.